Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles A carbon atom in your body today may have been part of a blade of grass last year, or a dinosaur bone millions of years ago. Fossilized bones in a Colorado dig.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Water Cycle
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles Nutrient Cycling Matter cycles through the environment. Matter can be transformed, but cannot be created or destroyed. Nutrients, matter that organisms require for life process, circulate throughout the environment in biogeochemical cycles. Did You Know? Organisms require several dozen nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon, to survive.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Carbon Cycle Carbon dioxide and oxygen move through ecosystems in a path called the carbon dioxide - oxygen cycle. Each time you breathe, you take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. These gases are present in the air. During photosynthesis, plants use carbon dioxide to make sugars. Oxygen is released. Much of the oxygen released by plants is used by animals and other organisms during respiration. During respiration, sugars and oxygen combine, which releases energy and forms carbon dioxide and other products.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Carbon Cycle Other Carbon Sources combustion: burning of wood or fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) decomposers: release carbon dioxide as they break down the bodies of dead organisms erosion: when limestone erodes the carbon stored in the shells of dead organisms is released
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Carbon Cycle
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Phosphorus Cycle Short Term Phosphorus Cycle Plants use phosphorus from the soil in their tissues while animals get phosphorus by eating plants. The phosphorus is returned to the soil when animals die and decompose.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Phosphorus Cycle Long Term Phosphorus Cycle Phosphates washed into the sea become incorporated into rock as insoluble compounds. Millions of years later the rock could be exposed and the phosphorus could become part of the local ecological system.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Phosphorus Cycle Why is Phosphorus Important? Part of the DNA & RNA backbones. Main component of ATP
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Phosphorus Cycle
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is one of the main elements found in amino acids (proteins). Nearly 78% of the air is nitrogen gas. However, most organisms cannot use this form of nitrogen. Certain bacteria in the soil can change nitrogen gas (N 2 ) into ammonia (NH 3 ) by combing it with hydrogen gas (H 2 ). This process is termed nitrogen fixation. Plants take in nitrogen compounds through their roots. They use the nitrogen compounds to make proteins. When animals eat, they take in the the proteins from plants or animals. They break down these proteins and rearrange the amino acids to make the proteins they require to function.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Nitrogen Cycle When dead organisms and wastes are decomposed, simple nitrogen compounds are produced. Plants can take in these compounds. Some of these compounds are also changed by certain bacteria into nitrogen gas, which goes into the air.
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles Nitrogen Cycle - 4 stages Assimilation: Absorption and incorporation of nitrogen into plant and animal compounds Nitrification: Production of nitrate (NO 3 ) from ammonia (NH 3 ) Ammonification: Production of ammonia by bacteria during decay of urea Denitrification: Conversion of nitrate (NO 3 ) to nitrogen gas (N 2 ) by bacteria
Lesson 2.4 Biogeochemical Cycles The Nitrogen Cycle
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Water s abundance is a primary reason there is life on Earth.
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Solutions A mixture is a combination of elements, molecules, or compounds that are not bonded chemically. Solutions are mixtures in which all ingredients are equally distributed. Mixtures can be solids, liquids, or gases. Blood, sea water, plant sap, and metal alloys, such as brass, are all solutions.
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Organic and Inorganic Compounds Organic compounds: Consist of covalently bonded carbon atoms and often include other elements, especially hydrogen Hydrocarbons: Organic compounds, such as petroleum, that contain only hydrogen and carbon Inorganic compounds: Lack carbon-to-carbon bonds Organic compounds include natural gas, petroleum, coal, and gasoline.
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Macromolecules Large organic compounds that are essential to life Proteins: Serve many functions; include enzymes Nucleic Acids: Direct protein production; include DNA and RNA Carbohydrates: Provide energy and structure; include sugars, starch, and cellulose Lipids: Not soluble in water; many functions; include fats, waxes, and hormones
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Water is required by all living things for survival. Hydrogen bonding gives water many unique properties: Cohesion Resistance to temperature change Less dense when frozen Ability to dissolve many other molecules Water
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Acids, Bases, and ph The separation of water molecules into ions causes solutions to be acidic, basic, or neutral. The ph scale measures how acidic or basic a solution is. ph of 7 Neutral: Equal concentrations of H + and OH - ph below 7 Acidic: Relatively high concentration of H + ph above 7 Basic: Relatively high concentration of OH -
Lesson 2.5 Matter and the Environment Interacting Systems Inputs into Earth s interconnected systems include energy, information, and matter.! Feedback loops regulate systems. Negative feedback loops: Result in stabilization of a system Negative feedback loop Positive feedback loops: Result in a system moving to an extreme Did You Know? Predator-prey cycles are negative feedback loops. If prey populations rise, predator populations can rise in response, causing prey populations to fall. Then predator populations may decline, allowing prey populations to rise again, and so on.
Lesson 2.6 Earth s Spheres The movement of Earth s plates has formed the deepest ocean trenches and the highest mountains.
Lesson 2.6 Earth s Spheres Spheres of Function Earth can be divided into spheres that are defined according to their location and function.
Lesson 2.6 Earth s Spheres Crust: Thin, cool, rocky outer skin The Geosphere Rocks and minerals on and below Earth s surface: Mantle: Very hot and mostly solid Core: Outer core is molten metal, inner core is solid metal Crust and mantle are divided into: Lithosphere: Crust and uppermost mantle; divided into tectonic plates Asthenosphere: Soft middle mantle; heated by outer core Lower mantle: Solid rock Rock formation, Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Utah
Lesson 2.6 Earth s Spheres The Biosphere and Atmosphere Biosphere: The part of Earth in which living and nonliving things interact Atmosphere: Contains the gases that organisms need, such as oxygen; keeps Earth warm enough to support life Earth s atmosphere, seen from space
Lesson 2.6 Earth s Spheres The Hydrosphere Consists of Earth s water Most of Earth s water (97.5%) is salt water. Only 0.5% of Earth s water is unfrozen fresh water usable for drinking or irrigation. Earth s available fresh water includes surface water and ground water. Greenlaw Brook, Limestone, Maine Did You Know? If it is depleted, groundwater can take hundreds or even thousands of years to recharge completely.